Back to Reality (March 1, 2018)
I’m back stateside now, in California… But prior to arriving back “home”, I spent a day in Hong Kong…
My other “home”…
I arrived around 9 AM…
And since my connecting flight from HKG -> SFO wasn’t scheduled to depart until 1:00 AM the following day, let’s just say I was looking forward to spending most of my day in HK…
So, I hopped onto the Airport Express (free return trip if coming back on the same day), off to Hong Kong Island…
From MTR…
$110 HKD (~$14.04 USD) using Octopus card…
I met up with a friend (the lovely “life planner”), and we were off to lunch!
She promised me something good… Michelin Star good!
Luckily, we arrived early to beat the crowds (I snapped the following photo on the way out)…
We decided to share two plates… Variety is the spice of life, after all…
For probably the first time in my life, I was missing (and craving) char siu… haha.
Ok, quick selfie photo and then it’s time to dig in!
Feeling satiated (and stuffed), it was time for a stroll! Luckily, it was a very nice day outside (warm and not scorching, although somewhat cloudy)… perfect for walking…
As usual, I felt lost in life… and my thoughts ran wild (and blank)…
Too much nostalgia, in HK…
Though it was awesome getting a chance to practice my terrible Cantonese…
Yeah, embarrassing myself on the daily is a common occurrence for yours truly whenever I’m overseas… Actually, I tend to do that wherever I go…
Anyway…
Had another meet up in TST (Tsim Sha Tsui), so we decided to take the ferry over to the other side (my first time, actually)…
So glad I had a nice local guiding me around town… I was somewhat amazed how much (bad) my sense of direction (memory) of HK has deteriorated in such a short period of time, already…
It was a very quick trip…
In any event, I was very excited to catch up with another good buddy, who is an aspiring early FI enthusiast (and entrepreneur)!
Fun times… Then it was off for late Lunch #2 in Whampoa…
For some ramen…
Chilled at a Starbucks cafe for an hour or two, then it was time for dinner (yes, more eating) near Kowloon Station…
Oily greens, haha… sigh…
I forgot how decorated and upscale Elements shopping mall (Kowloon Station) was…
I had a blast! The “life planner” did an amazing job planning my day in HK, so props to her… I’m most grateful for all the time and effort!
Back on the Airport Express around 10:30 PM… Until next time, HK!
Destination — California…
Best dim sum I had in 3 months… Cathay Pacific food is legit…
I ALWAYS miss this… HK style milk tea… and make sure to get multiple refills while onboard…
Back to reality now…
I’ve been back in the Bay Area for a few days now… To be honest, my mind is all scattered and I’m trying to give my: mind, body, spirit, etc. a break before I get back into the flow of things again… Yes, I know I’ve been on vacation for over 3 months in Asia, and it was awesome (for the most part), but sometimes you just want to isolate yourself and go into hibernation mode…
That’s where I’m at right now… which explains why I’ve been away from updating this blog lately…
Eventually, I’ll get into more details in a separate blog post…
But yeah, over the years, I’ve kind of learned from experience that the early FI life is kind of… complicated…
It’s not always sunshine and lollipops and oftentimes, you just feel like you’re in a state of: blah.
Which describes (in a nutshell) how I’m feeling right now.
So, I’m going to give myself some space to process everything that’s happened…
However, it shouldn’t be long before I’m back and focused on investing and this blog again… I’ve got the next edition of the Thank You newsletter to get to, and yes, I’m very much looking forward to getting started on that.
Life Unscripted — Going from one state of being to the next… back and forth… without any real gameplan (or roadmap)…
It’s kind of what I always wanted out of life, so I’m not tripping out or complaining about anything…
I’m just realizing over time how complicated/convoluted/irrational? this thing called real life is…
No need to sugarcoat anything, we all go through phases, stages, transitions…
Right now, I’m just blah.
Fight On!